Shapiro in The Standerd

I just read shapiro's profile in the new standerd. First off I thought it was a great article and gave a good incite into the beginning of the sport that some of us younger guys don't know about.

The one thing I was wondering about is what caused him to say
"I have been extremely disappointed with the lack of loyalty our sport offers athletes.Who knows, is it my ability to kiss ass?" and
"Hopefully we'll get the industry back in the hands of people who actually give a sh*t about the riders who make it what it is."

I was just wondering what happened to make him feel like this, and what you guys think about what he said. Me personally I see where he is coming from, but I don't think I am "in" enough with people in the industry to really know what is going on behind the scenes.

[start speculations here]

all guesses here, but with wakeboarding, as with any soul sport, by which I mean surfing, skating, etc..., were most people just do it to enjoy themselves, it is hard not for big industry to take over.

Companies in wake, though not bad because without them there would be no sport, just seem to be in it for the money and not the love of the sport. Take LF dropping Tino. The dude straight slayshes, and the speculation was that he was dropped do to lack of podium standings.

Look at the other big soul sporting industries and what they became. Surfing, one of the purest sports around, has become more commercialized in the past 10 years than any other sport in my opinion. Not to long ago it seems surfing wasn't in the mainstream. Sure we had SurferMag keeping us up to date on our events and the happenings, but then it just kind of blew up. Line ups became crowded with guys that had no respect, and just like that everything turned around. Nike bought out Hurley in the late 90's(I believe it was around this time, correct me if I'm wrong), and this was their sort of break through into the underground industry, and from there it was all downhill. sure Nike has done some great things with 6.0, but with it has pushed other companies away from the free ride mentality and the soul riding that the sport is about, and made things all about tournament riding, not in just surfing but in skating and wakeboarding.

Things are changing, and it's hard for an O.G. like Darin to see the sport go from it's humble conception of riding for yourself to the way some riding is today, all about contest, competition, and money.

As far as I know Body Glove has always taken very good care of Darin, which may have had it's roots in the old school surfer mentality.

Everyone wants the money is what I see it all boiling down to. I don't know if this all makes sense, but I feel where Darin is coming to, I saw it happen in the surf industry, I'd hate to see Wakeboarding take a turn like that.

Thankfully we've got companies like Slingshot and Cire and such that are keeping it real in the Wake community. Focusing not on the profits, but giving back to a sport that has given so much to them.

don't ever accuse lf of not in it for the love of the sport. how many other companies have events like brostock, lf slide show, maven tour?

fact is, wake companies are around to make money.

No doubt. Probably 99.9% of the people who work in the wake industry could make significantly more $$ if they worked somewhere else. From my experience, the people who are in it do it for the love of the sport first, the $$ a distant second.

I liked the article as well. I dont think he is too peeved at the sponsor side of things though. I mean after all, he is building a dream home in hawaii, and owns his own business. all of that is due to the money his sponsors were paying him when he was in his prime.
I think he is more irritated about what seems to be a lack of respect for what he has done for the industry. this industry seems to be more about "what have you done for me lately".
Zane, Byerly, and other old school guys are still very much involved with the sport on the mainstream side of things, so they will continue to get the love.
it looks like Darin still is feeling the love from Malbu though, so I think he is fine.

well good thing company wake is coming...they'll restore justice

^^^ lol... Company Wake and the Justice League

I'm not straight up accusing LF of anything, everything was a speculation, I don't know if Tino got dropped or left LF, so it was all guesses.

It's just gotta be hard for someone like Darin to move from something so underground to so mainstream so fast!

Right on Joe
Wake companies are around to make money.
New Sheriff in town just open the New 2000Sq.Ft factory right here IN THE GOOD OLD U.S.A.

^^^ so fast, we're talking about more than a decade. Change and evolution is good.

so fast as in look how long football, basketball, and baseball has been around. Our sport is already gaining in popularity like the three major sports after being around for 15 years. Change and Evolution is good, I'm glad I'm not riding a one directional board, but just think about how things have changed since Darin started riding way back. Some things have got to just make him cringe.

Btw. check out Darin's section in updog if you haven't, one of my all time favorites!!

Da Moose, good to hear you're in town to stay!!

Sam ,Change and evolution is Great,But water been the same for 1,000,000's of years.

oh yea josh, i love "Deep thoughts with Darin Shapiro" in the extras section

I thought the article was great. It was interesting to see his perspective on his career and also it was great to see some pictures of him riding again. Maybe the comments are about O'Brien? Didn't they kind of let him fall to the wayside after his contract was up? I can't remember the whole story of why he wound up on LF.

all companies are in any business to make money...

Yes, but in small sports, businesses promote this "family" atmosphere. So, a rider get the idea that he is working along side the owner to build something. However, the owner is looking to amass wealth rather than dance with the girl that brought him.

In hindsight, innovators like Byerly, Shapiro, Gregg, Zane, Murray, Best, etc. should have negotiated ownership percentages in their contracts. It must taste bitter to build something with your own two hands, far bigger than your salary indicates, and have relatively little to show for it.

I have spoke with Darin a little about this subject in Mexico. His loss of sponsorship is what he is bummed about. For example a surfer like Tom Curren will always have support from Quicksilver or whoever because he is a legend. Darin has been hung out to dry by companies that he has helped build. I dont even think he has a signature board out right now.
That is straight up wrong. That guys still pulls ••••••••• No One can!

Dude, that surf shot in the standard is ALL TIME!!!

I thought all the pics in this issue were amazing. The standerd is by far my favorite wakeboard mag. It isn't just a couple one page articles and 50 ads, it actually looks like they put some serious effort into it.

Andy Nintzel I know you are in with obrien do you know anything about their current relations with shapiro?

I feel like the ownership percentage option isn't horribly realistic. Byerly now has his own thing (or off-shoot is more appropriate), shannon best left wakeboarding to work with kiteboarding, shaun has some amazing things at hyperlite, zane has work...and looking at darin (probably at 19 or something like that--I'm not doing any fact checking here), how much leverage is he going to have when the sport is young and the potential isn't fully recognized by most people? Furthermore, I question if owning a company is the best option...didn't the o'briens sell the majority of HO/Hyperlite's ownership (reasoning may not be in line with this argument, but still...)? And tony and jimmy don't own Liquid...tony said it himself, it's a lot of stress, and those companies went through some issues...

In the end though, if you love something, you shouldn't be doing it JUST for the money. I consider that a problem, like people picking up wakeboarding to make their waterski sponsors happy. Some of those other guys are veritable legends (byerly, Shapiro, Murray, and Gregg definitely deserves to be there too)...whatever, I'm ranting now and that's not what it was supposed to be. For whatever reason, It just struck me oddly to have your worth in this industry come down to the amount of money you have at the end. Support and respect, however would be nice...

I'm not quite sure what darin is looking for...but I don't blame any company for not holding on to a signature model for a rider. There are other dudes who are working their way up and are attempting to leave their mark...they may deserve it just as much. For darin, is it really about that? because when he retired, he went to liquid...it's odd to think about hyperlite having to revive a pro model, or o'brien doing the same...that is unreasonable.

Dudes, I start thinking in my head and I think WAY too much and that is where those weird posts come from!!

I can hardly wait to check out this issue, though. I've been coming home and checking my mail box, PRAYING that it's in there.

It hasn't been.

But it WILL be...

ES, I definitely agree that there is no reason to keep a pro model in production.

I guess I look at the mainstream sports vs. the "soul" sports and I see two distinctive traits.

The mainstream sports, like football, could care less about those who put in work building it from nothing into a juggernaut. There is no respect for those who stuck with it when there was nothing there, out of love for the sport. Kids out of college make millions, all because a few men men bussed themselves all over the country playing for a few hundred bucks a game. Many of those guys are homeless today. With plent of money, there is no love for those who paved the way.

The "soul" sports like skating hold the OG's up like gods. They are royalty. They get the support and respect they deserve.

Wakeboarding not only created its own industry, but it single-handedly resurrected the dying inboard boat industry. It was all because a dozen or so guys showed the world what could be done on a board.

Makes me wonder which path wakeboarding will take.

Jason G,

Unfortunately, I think you can already see the direction the sport is going, and it's not the right one

Shapiro is the man and he deserves more than what he is getting!

Well put J Jakober. Bob Archer sucks.

Brett,

Sorry Bro I have no Idea!